Darren Flindell has privileged enough to call some of Sydney's most famous racing moments this century - and he was always destined for the commentary booth.
John Tapp called paddlepop sticks floating down a drain. Mark Shean substituted marbles for the great horses of the time.
But for Flindell, it was calling himself scoring chip and chase tries in the backyard – picturing he was wearing his beloved black and gold of the Balmain Tigers at Leichardt Oval – that helped craft the skills which would see him become Sydney’s premier race broadcaster.
Flindell had always dreamt of a career in broadcast, despite the best efforts of those in school to dismiss his ambitions.
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“Everyone started laughing,” Flindell said in a recent SKY Spotlight interview.
“The laughter in the room was quite uproarious and I found that very motivating.
“I think it was probably the left field nature of the comment that sparked that reaction, but as time went on, they came around.
“In school concerts, me and a mate would do little skits where he’d imitate racing journalist Ken Callander and I would do a phantom call of all the teachers’ names on a board.”
Flindell would later enrol in the Max Rowley Radio Academy to receive the voice training required to become a race caller.
“That was very significant because at that stage I was practicing calling all the time and sending tapes to race clubs and 2KY,” he said.
“But it was the contacts you built there...that helped me secure a role doing on course announcing at the Harold Park greyhounds – calling dogs onto the track, reading tote dividends and registration plates for cars that had their lights left on – and that opened the door to get in.
“I secured my first calling role at the Moss Vale greyhounds and that started the path.”
Flindell would soon move overseas, taking up a job in Hong Kong for 16 years and establishing himself on the world stage.
But after a lengthy stay calling races in another country, it was time for Flindell to come home.
“There was no job to come home to at that stage,” he said.
“When Sky Thoroughbred Central was about to be launched, I was approached and was very excited to do it...the timing was perfect.”
Shortly after returning to Australia and taking over the Sydney racing broadcasts across radio and television, a horse by the name of Chautauqua would win the first of his three G1 T J Smith Stakes.
From there, Flindell was lucky enough to call a large majority of Winx's career, and admits the pressure that came from that era was tough to handle.
“I look back and think how fortunate I was to return at the start of the Chautauqua era, considering I’d only been back a few weeks,” Flindell said.
“Then the Winx thing was just so intense. Each year would grow more intense than the previous and there was a lot of added pressure...people would ring wanting to talk about her, the extra previews and the pressure of getting the calls right.
“It was a sense of relief when she crossed the line in her final race because I was running out of things to say about her."
Sydney has undergone a major revamp in the past five years, with the introduction of The Everest and other major races bringing a new demographic to the track.
Flindell recognises the importance of social media and is glad to see crowds back after two years of COVID-19 restrictions.
“Social media has helped racing reach new audiences now,” he said.
“The only thing that worried me about leaving Hong Kong for Sydney was I was leaving a ‘Mecca’ of racing, where massive crowds and wagering were on an upward spiral, and at the time, Sydney had deteriorated.
“This is almost common play now and I know the last 12 months has been rotten with COVID with crowds on and off all the time.
“But when we get that momentum building up the new demographic of the crowd getting here really stands out.”